Portraits of Maramuresh

4th Prize of Portrait & Costume

Kathleen Laraia Mclaughlin (USA)

Fashion has changed as women replace the homespun black in their skirts with factory printed fabric and given up their leather and wool opinci - the footwear of tradition - for vinyl pumps. What has remained constant is Sunday afternoon, when one learns to flaunt one's sense of style.

on Easter morning, Victoritsa wears a typical kamasha made for little girls. It takes up to four months for a woman to cut away the threads that make the holes and frills in this blouse. If the woman in a girl's family hasn't the eyesight or the time to make these clothes, they can purchase them for the equivalent of three month's family income.
Why do they go to such lengths to dress for Easter? Its is never too early to impress a future mother-in-law.

On a typical summer day, a couple will make a two story haystack, pick beans, and take greens home for the pigs. That is work in addition to watering and milking the cows twice, cooking a hot meal for their pigs and keeping social ties with their neighbours.
Their clothes are made of hand-woven linen. After spending the time to make the fabric， peasant fashion makes sure nothing is wasted by finding ways to make clothes form uncut, rectangular pieces of cloth.